The Kansas City Star
Iran takes more robust military stance with US talks frozen
has reorganized its military to be more aggressive abroad as talks on ending the with the U.S. remain mired in stalemate, a sign that Tehran is preparing for a protracted era of regional conflict. A raft of top military appointments by Supreme Leader...
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Kansas City stadium plan delayed amid transparency concerns
City’s long-awaited plan to secure a new Royals stadium near downtown hit a snag on Tuesday when city leaders delayed a vote on a key agreement with the team. The delay, which Mayor Quinton Lucas previewed Montions, day night, came as the proposal...
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A Kansas City butcher shares his favorite meals in the city
On the clock at Fox and Pearl, butcher and charcutier Guy Danforth prepares meats that may appear avant-garde or sound downright weird. Take one scroll through his Instagram account, which shows off photos of trotters (pig feet) stuffed with...
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KC artist turning quilts into portraits of Black beauty, identity
For more than two decades, Kim Alexis Newton moved comfortably through corporate America, eventually managing a billion-dollar business operation during her 23-year career at Hallmark. Outside the office, however, she was building another part of her...
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Indicted Jackson County executive had promised to ‘fix’ chaos
When Phil LeVota took the oath of office to become Jackson County’s interim executive in October, he vowed to clean up a county that had been fractured by the chaos of its government. His predecessor, Frank White Jr., had just been ousted in a...
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Every single Missouri county rejected Amendments 4 and 5
Every county in Missouri rejected Gov. Mike Kehoe and Republican lawmakers’ plans to reshape the state’s tax structure and constitutional amendment process, handing GOP leaders overwhelming defeats on two of their signature ballot measures. Amendment...
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Ty Masterson wins Kansas GOP governor primary
Kansas Republican voters have chosen Senate President Ty Masterson as their candidate to break the party’s losing streak in gubernatorial elections this November. The top legislative leader from Andover, who was buoyed by President Donald Trump’s...
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KC has a plethora of concerts in August. Here are 8 shows to catch this month
Just like the Kansas City weather, the concerts in the metro are heating up as the summer continues. Some legendary rock acts are set to grace KC stages this month, including one of the most acclaimed rappers of this generation making his return to...
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Neighbors aim to change fate of Overland Park pool
A group of Overland Park neighbors are savoring each moment spent at their neighborhood pool this summer, after a recent City Council decision signalled the clock is ticking toward its closure. Before that happens, the neighbors near Stonegate Pool,...
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Trump backs off planned strikes; Iran denies deal in place
President Donald Trump backed off a plan to launch powerful new strikes against Iran, saying late Saturday he was asked by several Middle Eastern countries to hold off as they had reached “the perimeters of a deal.” It had been reported Friday that...
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Kansas City ICE pursuit ends as man crashes through window
The ICE action happened quickly and ended with a 28year-old man from Honduras crashing through a plate glass window, his lower right leg reportedly sliced to the bone. On Sunday, just after noon, with lunchtime diners filling Las Palmas restaurant in...
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New Lenexa brewery offers authentic German experience
The opening of a Johnson County brewery and beer garden was ushered in with the blaring of five alphorns: long, wooden instruments traditionally used by herders in the mountains of Central Europe. It’s all-German everything at KC Bier Co.’s new...
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KC area’s new sunflower habitat is in bloom
Jackson County’s wildlife will have a feast this year thanks to the new sunflower habitat in Fleming Park. Flowers towering 6 feet or more stretch into the skyline in a break from the expansive, lush green forest surrounding the park at 22807 SW Woods...
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Drones attack Iran’s neighbors as Tehran tests latest pause
Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq reported drone attacks on Monday, two days after the United States abruptly suspended a two-week campaign of air strikes against Iran, as Tehran appeared to put President Donald Trump’s latest strategic U-turn to the...
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Iran war spreads to Red Sea and Caspian; Gulf quiet
Signs of the Iran war’s spread emerged this weekend despite a pause in U.S. strikes, as Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast and Iran accused Ukraine of targeterence ing an Iranian vessel in the Caspian...
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Newly opened cafe closes abruptly amid tipping debacle
Just a month ago, toast-centric health chain Toastique entered the Kansas City metro, opening at 6445 W. 135th St. in Overland Park. But already, the cafe is closed. The lights are off, and a few lonely parfaits sit in its cooler. Produce still lies...
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Chiefs unveil renderings of new domed stadium in Kansas
The Chiefs’ long-established plans to move across the state line now come with a visual. The organization unveiled Wednesday its first glimpses of designs for the $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County, Kansas, set to open for the 2031 season. The...
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Inside revival of multicultural artwork in KC’s Northeast
Beginning at 9 a.m., volunteers and more came together for a communal purpose: restoring the Flag Mural on 9th and Van Brunt streets. “All of our families here who have immigrants, who are immigrants or they have parents who immigrated,” lead artist...
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See inside vintage shop transforming into café, hangout spot
A Kansas City second hand store officially opens the doors to its new location Friday, becoming a third space for those who love thrifted and vintage goods. “A lot of people might be thinking, ‘Oh, a vintage store is just getting bigger,’ but it’s a...
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Fans discover Jackson statue in public JoCo garden
Last month a TikTok user from Minnesota made a pilgrimage to the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens in southern Johnson County. She visited on June 25, the 17th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. She went there to visit the bronze statue...
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Kansas City approves Costco zoning change for business center
Kansas City planning officials on Wednesday approved zoning changes related to Costco’s planned conversion of its midtown store into a business center. The proposed business center, at the 241 E. Linwood Blvd. store, would be geared toward providing...
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A 3-mile segment of I-70 in Kansas City will be closed in 2027
For 11 months in 2027, the Missouri Department of Transportation will be completely closing a major 3-mile stretch of I-70 from Prospect Avenue to Van Brunt Boulevard in Kansas City. Separate from the $2.8 billion Statewide Improve I-70 procalls gram,...
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Bartender serves up storytelling at new Lenexa cocktail lounge
In the middle of a growing Johnson County development, where cranes and large glass buildings reside, velvet curtains go up in a storefront. The change hints at something new. Inside, Benjamin Davalos twirls his measuring jigger and, with a turn of...
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Former Embassy Suites hotel imploded with dynamite
With two booms heard through the Plaza and Westport neighborhoods, the former Embassy Suites transformed from a hotel to a pile of rubble. The structure off of Mill Creek Parkway at 220 W. 43rd St. was demolished Sunday in an implosion. The 266-room...
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GOP senator was defense hawk, staunch Trump ally
Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican who went from a vocal critic of Donald Trump to one of his most loyal allies after Trump became president, has died, his office announced on Sunday. He was 71. The South Carolina lawmaker died after a “brief and...
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Independence recall election could be halted by new lawsuit
Following weeks of petition drives and door-to-door signature collection by resident critics, the City of Independence has set a date for a special election to potentially recall First District Councilmember John Perkins. But a new lawsuit, filed by...
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Costco meeting leaves KC locals with unanswered questions
Dozens of Kansas City residents demanded answers from Costco officials during a public meeting on Tuesday about the company’s plan to change its Linwood Boulevard grocery store into a business center. But some said they left the meeting at the...
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Birria fusion dishes draw crowds to new KC restaurant
chunks of slow-cooked beef soaked in a rich consomé come piled high in not tacos, but pressed between two tortillas, in ramen, inside eggrolls and in deep-fried balls covered in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos dust at a new Mexican restaurant in the West...
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KC’s Mexican community shares appreciation for Fan Fest
“Y si sí?” “What if we do?” the rallying cry behind Mexico’s 2026 FIFA World Cup run, has become “what if we had done it?” following Mexico’s round of 16 match against England on Sunday, July 5. Although Mexico technically broke the curse of el...
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America marks its 250th birthday with storms, sweat and fire
America’s 250th birthday party on the Fourth of July extended into the early hours of the Fifth, with an enormous fireworks display that began seconds before midnight in its capital. That capped a coast-tocoast celebration that featured fighter jets,...
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The Fold debuts in KC with diverse dishes, casual vibe
For the better part of a decade, patrons knew the moody restaurant at 1830 Walnut St. as Corvino Supper Club. But no longer. The exterior sign, which now reads “The Fold,” signals a change of hands. It’s Todd Richards’ turn to attract a crowd of...
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Kansas City bar extends hours for World Cup revelers
When the clock struck 3 a.m. in Kansas City, the drinks kept pouring at The Blue Line, a hockey bar in the River Market packed with mostly 20-somethings taking full advantage of the watering hole’s new latenight hours. There was a line out the door —...
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Behind KC Current’s goal to expand CPKC Stadium
Not that Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas wasn’t intrigued. But when the fledging franchise soon to be named the Kansas City Current in 2021 announced it would build its own stadium on the Missouri River, Lucas recalled Monday, he wondered how it would...
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Downtown KC high-rises attract out-of-town residents
The company behind a trio of luxury downtown high-rises says they’re attracting residents from outside Kansas City, including larger cities. Many of the residents moving to One, Two and Three Lights, inside the downtown loop around the Power & Light...
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Iran and US step up attacks and threaten to escalate
Iran launched missiles and drones on U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain early Sunday shortly after President Donald Trump threatened to wipe out the Iranian leadership if they did not stick to the interim agreement to end their war. Israel said...
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Dutch fans put on massive party through downtown Kansas City
The wave that hit downtown Kansas City on Thursday wasn’t like what the city has seen before, even in enormous parades for Chiefs’ Super Bowl or Royals’ World Series victories. The Orange Walk put on by devotees of the Netherlands national team — and...
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Baba's Pantry brings Palestinian flavors to KC
“Hello, my friend!” A man with a wide smile and powder-white beard emerges from behind a curtain. He claps his hand around the shoulder of a customer, who breaks concentration from his food and arches his eyebrows. “Hey, how are you?” the diner...
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Visitors happily surprised by Kansas City’s FIFA Fan Fest
After going to the opening of the FIFA Fan Fest in Kansas City, The Star’s Rashad Alexander wrote that if you give something some time, it can be a lot better than you expect. At the conclusion of the second weekend of the free soccer festival located...
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World Cup crowds absent, business bad on Southwest Blvd.
Caitlin Benedict, the owner of Bisou, a French coffee shop off Southwest Boulevard, said she became so convinced that the 2026 FIFA World Cup would bring a wave of customers to her bistro — 650,000 visitors coming, city promoters repeatedly said — that...
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Tropical bird lost its way in Kansas City. Birders watch with awe, and some fear
Teresa McCray parked herself about 20 feet from the edge of the Kauffman Foundation pond Wednesday, motionless, with a camera bag at her feet. She knows that it will be hours before she moves — the only thing that would have drawn here draw her away...
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Watching Croatia’s World Cup game in Strawberry Hill is ‘like a family reunion’
If you’re ever in Strawberry Hill in Kansas City, Kansas, on a game day you may hear faint chanting coming from St. John the Baptist Croatian Parish off of 4th Street. It’s a frequent sound that echoes the area, as hundreds of Croatians gather in the...
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ICE will have presence at Kansas City World Cup matches
As Kansas City prepares to host a series of World Cup matches, federal immigration agents will be on the ground near Arrowhead Stadium, a top White House official said Tuesday. Andrew Giuliani, the head of the Trump administration’s World Cup task...
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World Cup craze takes over Kansas City
Near Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza, Argentina fans filled the Mill Creek Park with chants and asado the night before the defending champions’ opening match against Algeria in the FIFA World Cup. Argentina fans described the atmosphere at the...
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Crash of skydiving plane kills 12 in Butler, Mo., officials say
A plane crash at Butler Memorial Airport on Sunday killed 12 people, including a pilot and 11 skydivers, according to Bates County authorities. The crash happened during takeoff and was reported about 11:27 a.m., Bates County Sheriff Chad Anderson...
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World Cup is chance for Mexico fans to revel in culture & community
Thousands of supporters dressed in green gathered beneath gray skies Thursday when Kansas City officially opened its FIFA World Cup Fan Festival with Mexico’s first match of the tournament, transforming the grounds of the National World War I Museum...
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How The Kansas City Star is covering the 2026 World Cup
City, the world is here. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is the biggest in the history of the international soccer tournament with teams representing 48 nations competing. Four of those countries — Algeria, Argentina, England and The Netherlands — will call...
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Defying Trump with brief Iran fight, Israel seeks more sway
In launching renewed strikes on Iran on Monday in apparent open defiance of Donald Trump, Israel has tried to make its case to have a say at the peace negotiating table, where it has so far been kept at arm’s length by the U.S. president. Despite...
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How 100 days of Iran war exposed US vulnerability
As the United States’ war against Iran hits the 100-day mark, early military triumphs have given way to a costly stalemate that could have severe consequences for perceptions of Washington’s might abroad. What began as an overfigures, whelming display...
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Fans praise experience at Morton Amphitheater debut
First impressions are very important when it comes to new places. Kansas City’s latest music venue made a good one for many visitors Wednesday, including myself. The Morton Amphitheater in Riverside had its first-ever show Wednesday when pop singer...
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Restaurants filling KC stores for World Cup see big opportunity
James Thomas had a dream of one day opening his own daiquiri shop, serving the refreshing rum cocktails to celebratory Kansas Citians. But opening a business in a storefront, he said, felt too risky. So he put his business idea into a mobile truck,...
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New KC venue offers open space and star views
A new era for entertainment begins this week in the Kansas City area. With the Morton Amphitheater in Riverside hosting its first-ever show Wednesday, there’s a clear emphasis for them to make sure the fan experience is one they won’t forget. You’ll...
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Nonprofit plans Asian cultural district in Kansas City
Café Cà Phê and Hella Good Deeds began with coffee, festivals and community gatherings. Now, the two sister organizations are working toward building permanent infrastrucShackelford, ture for Kansas City’s Asian community. That vision includes mental...
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Iran requires concrete concessions for deal with US
Iran will sign a framework agreement with the US only once concrete concessions including the release of billions in frozen accounts - have been secured, according to its chief negotiator. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf reiterated during...
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KC’s 18th and Vine ushers in next era with new look
After nearly a year of construction, Kansas City officials, cultural leaders, business owners and residents gathered Wednesday morning to celebrate the reopening of the new pedestrian mall in the historic 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District, marking one...
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Morton Amphitheater set to open next week
Before you arrive to the Kansas City area’s newest music venue, make sure you’re aware of what you’re allowed to bring into the building. The Morton Amphitheater in Riverside will officially open June 3 when pop singer Kesha is set to perform. Like...
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Joe’s KC BBQ opens new ‘Next Door’ bar and grill concept
World-famous Joe’s KC BBQ isn’t known for its salmon dip and sauvignon blanc slushies. But its sister concept, Joe’s Next Door, is about to be. Situated just across the street from the tourist-centric gas station location at 500 County Line Road,...
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Official: Iran envoys discussing peace deal with Qatar PM
Iran’s top negotiator and its foreign minister were in Doha for talks with Qatar’s prime minister on a potential deal with the U.S. to end the threemonth-old war, an official briefed on the visit said on Monday, after Washington and Tehran played down...
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No rush for Iran deal, US blockade stays, Trump says
US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had told his representatives not to rush into any deal with Iran, appearing to dampen hopes of an imminent breakthrough in the threemonth-old war that had been raised by both sides a day earliThere er. The...
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United Market KC promises safety, community jobs
Right before the Sun Fresh on Prospect closed for business, the shelves were empty, Christopher Miller remembered. On Wednesday, May 20, he walked into a new store in a space that you wouldn’t believe was previstocked ously a struggling grocery store...
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Ward Parkway mansion divides neighborhood opinions
The sign at the construction site where, over the last year, a modern and nearly 10,000square-foot mansion has been rising at 6315 Ward Parkway, delivers a friendly message. “Hi, Neighbors!” reads the sign, put up by Kansas City’s sixtwentyone...
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Trump: Iran may face ‘big hit’ if a deal isn’t reached soon
President Donald Trump says the United States could resume strikes on Iran in the coming days as part of the push for a deal to end the war, after he said he had just called off a U.S. attack. “I hope we don’t have to do the war, but we may have to...
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VP, GOP leaders gather for manufacturing policy talk
JD Vance was scheduled to speak at Milbank Manufacturing, a manufacturer of electrical metering equipment, on Monday to tout manufacturing policies under President Donald Trump. The Missouri Republican Party had invited people to attend the event by...
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Federal funding for ballroom in jeopardy after Senate ruling
A U.S. Senate official on Saturday removed security funding that could be used for President Donald Trump’s planned White House ballroom from a massive spending package, Democratic lawmakers said, imperiling Republican efforts to devote taxpayer money...
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Eden Village tiny homes offer stability, with more planned
Cariann Lile’s evenings are quieter, safer than what she knew before. Her Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood is gated, it’s locked and the people she spent years afraid of can’t reach her anymore. She has a rescue cat, Kiwi, whom she knows would scare...
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Hyperscale AI data center breaks ground in Independence
Before December 2025, many Independence residents had never heard of artificial intelligence data centers, the massive warehouses filled with specialized computer equipment that keeps AI programs running on devices nationwide. Now, construction has...
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Art Institute considers buying 113-year-old KC manor
In the heart of Kansas City, a 113-year-old historic manor — the $1.3 million family home of two brothers who have long looked to raze to the ground their brick house with its Corinthian white pillars, ornamental plaster ceilings and sweeping staircase...
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Jazz, cocktails are focus of new Crossroads bar
Jon Copaken’s memories of his friend, Ted Burns, include nights spent in the 18th & Vine District. There, the pair of college students would listen to the trills of saxophones and shake hands with musicians, sometimes giving band members rides to...
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Energy secretary floats pause in federal gas tax
Chris Wright, the energy secretary, said Sunday that the Trump administration would be open to pausing the federal gas tax to give Americans some relief at the pump. “All measures that can be taken to lower the price of at the pump and lower the...
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Jalisco’s closure marks end of a local legacy
Late Wednesday morning at Jalisco’s in Kansas City, Kansas, longtime customers scraped their forks against their plates, enjoying some of their final bites at the restaurant. Jalisco’s has been serving Mexican food since Martin Luther King Jr. was...
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Costume team blends tradition, innovation for Oz
The energy was electric Tuesday morning inside the Spencer Theater’s costume room. Racks of completed clothing were rolled in and out; gold ribbons and emeraldcolored costumes in velvet and satin draped over work tables as stitchers and drapers wrapped...
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KC businesses uncertain about World Cup fan turnout
Lara Gray, the owner with her husband, Kyle, of the Casual Animal Brewing Co. — sitting at 1725 McGee St., only blocks from where thousands of soccer fans in June and July are expected to pour into Kansas City’s 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival — spent...
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Will corner with deep ties to KC barbecue history be saved?
Large-scale transformation is underway in Kansas City’s Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District: a pedestrian mall through the middle of the neighborhood, museum expansions, a new hotel, a new parking garage, multiple historic building rehabs including a...
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Window washer’s videos bringing new life to KC restaurants
In the digital age, marketing is crucial to help small businesses succeed. One Kansas City man is helping local establishments learn that, using Meta glasses, social media and the power of cleaning windows. Davis Roethler is the cowith owner of Window...
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KC’s World Cup spirit is on full display at airport
Only weeks remain before hundreds of thousands of soccer fans are expected to start descending on Kansas City for the first game, on June 16, of the month-long 2026 FIFA World Cup competition. But, so far, no banners have been hung at the Country Club...
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Family awarded $7.65M in fatal KU Med surgery infection case
A Wyandotte County jury on Tuesday awarded $7.65 million in damages to the wife and son of a Raytown man who the family alleged contracted a fatal infection from a contaminated device used during his heart surgery at KU Med. The jury attributed 88% of...
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